pin kaow.

Stop for a moment and think about the wonderful comfort of the neighborhood restaurant. You know which one I mean: It doubles as a place you'll go for a special occasion and the place you can't wait to get to when your Friday shift is over. The service is either good or it's great, but it doesn't really matter because they know you here. It's your place. The stuff they cook at your neighborhood restaurant probably isn't your favorite type of cuisine, but there are a few dishes that are so good, it's as if they're cooking just for you, just to your palate's specifications. Or maybe they are cooking just for you, maybe the guys in the back know exactly how you want it and they're happy to reward your loyalty. Because you eat at your neighborhood restaurant at least once a week, and if it's only once a month, you'll feel like you haven't been in ages. The restaurant will miss you. And like an ex that may still have some sort of magic spell on your emotions, this restaurant will be your constant comparison, your frame of reference when you venture away from home and try things new and different. That was excellent, you'll tell your husband or wife after a great adventure of a meal, but I still like the Whatever at My Neighborhood Restaurant. You will think this, you will say this, and then you'll think of me, because I wrote that terrible ex metaphor you just read. And you might be a little uncomfortable because now you ARE thinking of your ex while discussing dinner with your spouse. Oops. Whatever.

The point is: your attachment to the good food in your immediate area is a strong connection. Great neighborhood dining can be a substantial block in the wall of community. And if you don't live here, there's a chance you don't realize that Las Vegas really is like any other place, and we have neighborhoods, and we have great neighborhood restaurants. Of course, we don't all choose the good ones to be our go-to spot. In fact, sometimes we don't choose at all. Perhaps it's a combination of circumstances that allows the restaurant to choose us. And I'm not gonna get all judgy; it's perfectly fine if your spot is PF Chang's or a sports bar with great chicken wings or a greasy little pizza joint. We work with what we have. Not all neighborhoods have as many tasty destinations as mine. I am lucky. And my neighborhood restaurant is called Pin Kaow.

There are three different Pin Kaow restaurants in the Vegas valley, which is great news, because that means I can share my favorite northwest neighborhood grub with people who live in the southwest and southeast. It can be ours. The original restaurant, which is just off U.S. Highway 95 at Lake Mead Boulevard, opened in 2001. I do not know the name of the family that runs these places, nor do I need to. I don't know who cooks, and it doesn't matter. There are really only two things you need to know about Pin Kaow:

1. The food is really fucking good.
2. It's Thai food.

First, let's explore why I love to eat here so much. The menu is pretty traditional, and it has been called authentic. (The atmosphere also is traditional and very pretty, with lots of lacquered wood and tables big enough for family dining.) It's open every day and serves pretty much every Thai dish you've heard of, with a bit of familiar Chinese mixed in for those folks who are, sadly, missing out on the spicy and sweet treasures of southeast Asian food. There are chef's specials that change with the seasons and focus on seafood, dishes like clams sauteed with chilis, bell peppers, onions and basil, or deep fried prawns in a deep tamarind sauce. Pin Kaow does the basics very well: creamy coconut and lemongrass soups, a way-above average Pad Thai, and spicy salads like larb and Crying Tiger Beef drenched in fresh lime juice and fish sauce. It's so steady here.

The curries are impeccable, thick, rich and well balanced. We particularly dig on Masaman curry with potatoes and crushed peanuts, and red curry to which you can add, of course, your choice of tofu, chicken, beef, pork or shrimp. There's also a special duck curry with tomato, pineapple, basil and chili. Also, don't skip the fried rice dishes, which include standard stuff like combo meat or pineapple, and better stuff like chili fried rice with egg and broccoli or, again, duck fried rice with Chinese broccoli and tomato. For dessert, all you'll need is sweet rice with mango, if it's in season, or coconut ice cream if it isn't.

I am stuck on a few dishes at Pin Kaow, just as hard as I am stuck on the restaurant itself. I cannot seem to stop myself from ordering Chinese broccoli with crispy pork, a super-simple dish of stir-fried vegetables in a chili-laden, garlic brown sauce with mighty chunks of pork belly. Each bite of pig falls somewhere between sauce-absorbing meatiness and a full-blown cracklin, and even though I order the dish with medium heat, it always comes out with the perfect amount of forehead sweat inducing power. This is my food, one of my favorite dishes anywhere. In a close second is the soft shell crab salad, which I hope finds a home on the permanent menu. Just typing about this stuff right now has increased the odds of my dining here tonight by 50 to 60 percent.

Now let's discuss point number two. If you're going to claim any Thai restaurant in Las Vegas is a good one, it's going to be compared to the infamous Lotus of Siam. Years ago, L.A. writer Jonathan Gold wrote in Gourmet magazine that Lotus, a relatively small, family-run restaurant in the aging, eclectic Commercial Center on Sahara Avenue just east of the Strip, is the best Thai restaurant in North America. Vegas visitors picked up on the tip and have made Lotus one of the most popular off-Strip restaurants in the city. Locals love it too, including local critics, and so this unassuming spot has become regarded as the be all and the end all of Thai cuisine in Las Vegas. (Recently, chef/owner Saipin Chutima and her team did what once seemed impossible and expanded their Vegas brand to New York City. But within months, they pulled out of the new restaurant, and continue to operate in Vegas.)

So does Lotus live up this reputation, built on word of mouth and hype from a few critics? I've eaten there a handful of times, and the food is amazing. There are specialties from the chef's native Northern Thailand and other delicious, hard-to-find dishes that aren't on the menu at my beloved Pin Kaow. I'm probably the only active restaurant writer in Vegas that would choose Pin Kaow over Lotus. But it's an easy decision, and this is why: I know Lotus is tremendous. I love great Thai food, and there it is, and it's not inconvenient to go there. And yet I don't. It's been more than a year since I made the quick trip across Las Vegas Boulevard. And why would I? I've got my favorite Thai spot, it's completely delicious, and it's right down the street. It's Pin Kaow. Behold the power of the neighborhood restaurant.